Customer Reviews

Spies of the Balkans

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2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Salonika, Greece (now Thessalonika), is Greece's second largest city, after Athens. However, it is located in the northeastern part of Greece, much closer to the Balkan nations than to Athens. And it is here where Alan Furst, author of so many excellent WW2 novels, has based his new "spy thriller".

The summer and fall and winter of 1940 was the end of the "Phoney War" in Europe. Hitler had invaded west and had taken France and the Low Countries, and were threatening the Balkan States, some of whom were already "allied" with Germany. Greece had just been invaded by Mussolini's Italy, jealous of the success of Hitler's Germany and all the land they had conquered. The Greeks were able to hold off Italian advances, but everyone was waiting for Hitler to come to the aid of his Axis-partner, and finish off Yugoslavia and then Greece. (Understanding the politics of the Balkans is way above my pay-grade, but I can sort of appreciate the machinations of all involved).

Costa Zannis is a "special" police officer in Salonika, assigned to the city's "special" cases - those involving high-ranking officials and foreign dignitaries. "Special cases" which needed tact and discretion to handle. He has a small squad at his disposal, and extra funds from the government to help him along with his job. Furst has Zannis handle many cases, from aiding a refugee underground devoted to getting Jews from Germany to safety in Turkey and Egypt, to helping sneak a shot-down British scientist trapped in Occupied France escape back to England by taking him down the Balkans to Greece. Zannis is not an ambiguous hero. He does what he does from an honest belief in helping those who need it. He is quite honestly a good man.

Furst writes quite a nuanced book here. The plot is sometimes a little pot-boiler, but only a little. It's all in all a great read, particularly for those of us WW2 "junkies".

I enjoy a good historical novel, especially one set in such turbulent times as the 1930s. I also enjoy detective or spy novels, so any book that combines an interesting historical perspective with a detective or spy plot is high on my list.

That places Alan Furst near the top of my favorite authors. He, along with Philip Kerr, are the kings of pre-World War II detective/spy novels. While Kerr bases his work around Bernie Gunther, a cynical Berlin detective in Weimar and pre-Nazi Berlin, Furst places his novels in locations around Europe, usually on the fringes of Europe where circumstances and the nascent police states of Italy, Germany and Spain were just coming into being. Furst's main character, such as it is, is the environment, the impending doom of war and the restriction of rights across Europe, and the small actions by individuals and groups to resist.

Furst has examined a number of different locations and stories related to pre-war Europe, from the Polish officer escaping the German Front, to spies in Paris and Serbia. In his most recent book, Spies of the Balkans, he considers the impact of the coming war to Greece.

As usual in many Furst novels, there is a spy or detective in the mold of Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, an outwardly cynical professional with a real sense of right and wrong. In this novel he is a detective in Salonika who is called up as the Italians attack Albania and invade Greece. The Greeks fight hard and push the Italians back, but everyone recognizes that Hitler won't stand for that. The writing is on the wall that eventually Germany will come and clean up the mess Italy left behind.

Meanwhile the detective has been approached by wealthy Jews in Germany to establish a ratline to extract Jews out of Germany through Romania, Hungary and Serbia to Salonika, and then onward to Turkey. A number of people are extracted before the Germans invade.

In the final sequence the detective is approached to extract a downed English flier in Paris and get him out of France and into Turkey. While he doesn't have a lot of experience in spycraft, he manages to extract the flier using the broad reach of Greek diaspora in Paris.

The book starts slowly as Furst lays the groundwork for Hitler's eventual attack into the Balkans and Greece. Most of the novel is very much vintage Furst, but some of the escape from Paris stretches credulity a bit. This is a good book - I'd like to give it four stars, and would for many other authors, but it's not as good as some of Furst's other books, which is the standard to evaluate against.

"Spies of the Balkans" introduces a new protagonist in Constantine Zannis, an incorruptible "senior police official" in Salonika, capital of Greek Macedonia. As drawn by the always inventive author Alan Furst, Zannis is a paragon of principle and ingenuity with considerable authority and reputation in his city and country. He watches warily, with the rest of the Greek population, as Hitler's war machine works its way south into the Balkans and inevitably threatens his homeland. In the interim period, Salonika becomes a center for the espionage networks--Nazi. British and neutral--that must be controlled and used as much as possible to the benefit of the small Greek nation. Zannis goes from spy catcher to military officer (as the Italians make a clumsy attempt to invade Greece) to manager of a critical terminus for an escape network for German Jewish refugees. His writ jumps to direct espionage when he reluctantly joins forces with British intelligence to rescue a scientist critical to the Allied war effort who is hiding in Paris. Zannis is later sent into Yugoslavia to assist in a coup d'etat that could head off a Nazi takeover of the country and further threaten Greece.

Like every Alan Furst novel, "Spies of the Balkans" has great period interest, is entertaining from the first page and generally respects the intelligence of the reader. This book, for me, was effective in evoking the creeping menace of the war and the general feeling of helplessness that the Greeks and other Balkan peoples must have felt in the face of that threat. Also a plus here was what seemed to be a shift in the stature of the story's protagonist. In most of Furst's other books (if memory serves), the principals are men slightly outside the centers of power--often lone wolves. Always acting out of some personal code of honor, but generally without direct authority to effect the course of events. In "Spies of the Balkans", Constantine Zannis is a figure of real authority and influence and operates directly to make things happen or prevent them from happening. Zannis is also given a full-blown personal life in this story and has a range of feelings and perceptions that most previous Furst heroes did not enjoy. All of this is to the good, I think, enriching and validating his actions.

I'm not sure yet if I have any real criticisms of this book. If I did, I suppose it would center on Furst's endowment of Zannis with almost superhuman qualities at times. Zannis is so enterprising and heroic that there a couple of times in the story he comes close to being non-credible. But Furst's great narratives of Zannis' exploits, or at least the terrific narratives of the contexts that he operates in, overcome the reader's gut reaction of cynicism.

In any event, "Spies of the Balkans" is an excellent read. Probably more original and more complete than some of Furst's more recent novels. I'm a long-time fan of the writer and will continue to be. Recommended.

Espionage fiction is typically not a genre I go for but I do enjoy historical fiction, particularly WWII era, and Spies of the Balkans: A Novel proved to be a nice change of pace for me. It is the first spy novel I have read and also the first of espionage author Alan Furst, recognizably a master of the art. This book was a good introduction for me into the world of historical spy fiction and piqued my interest enough that I'd like to explore some of his other titles.

Spies of the Balkans: A Novel is written in a clean, straight forward style. The story line is expertly drawn through historic facts which make up the earlier days of Greek involvement in WWII. The action is exciting and suspenseful, the characters interesting and colorful. The story is rich with intrigue and risk, passion and romance.

The setting is Greece, the year 1940. The hero/protagonist is Costa Zannis, a senior police official with an honorable reputation in the port city of Salonika in Macedonia. He is a believable and like-able character, although a bit cliche inasmuch as he is a flawlessly handsome, intelligent, witty, courageous, daring and, of course, romantic hero. However, his love-at-first sight romance with the beautiful but unavailable Greek "goddess", Demetria, and their ensuing passionate love affair almost blocked my willing suspension of disbelief. I thought it over the top and quite unnecessary to the plot. (Perhaps the author was attempting to engage more fully female readership with an element of romance but it didn't quite work for this female reader).

What does set Costa apart from the typical romantic hero caricatures however, and in my eyes makes him a more realistic character with a believable participation in early WWII Greek history, are his strong moral fiber and superior code of honor which he unflinchingly demonstrates throughout the plot. While his country is at war with Mussolini's Italian forces in occupied Albania, and also with the looming threat of Hitler eventually taking Greece, Costa is called upon to serve in a dangerous clandestine operation against Nazi Germany by using his highly respected detective skills and his well established police network in the Balkans to organize and manage an escape route from Berlin through Greece. In resisting Nazi evil the risks are enormous and life threatening for all involved. Their fear is palpable, their courage heart-pounding but this perilous mission in assisting endangered Jews escape Berlin is "the only honorable thing to do." This sense of honor, especially during a time when many in Europe turned a blind eye to the plight of the Jews, is the core of the story and the subtle moral that runs throughout.

Spies of the Balkans: A Novel is for the most part a thrilling page turner which reads quickly. The denouement is masterful and highly rewarding. For its historic relevance I found this book very worthwhile. For its ethnic flavor I found it very enjoyable. For its entertainment value I found it quite satisfying. I am pleased with my "furst" spy novel experience and recommend it to those who love the genre. I would have given 5 stars excepting the overdone romantic element which for me detracted from the suspense.

I have read and enjoyed,immensely,Alan Furst's wonderful espionage novels, not once, but 4 times, and it would be difficult to chose a favorite because they were all so mesmerizing. Alas, the same is not true of "Spies Of The Balkans;" it is a pale imitation of his previous novels, lacking the drama and authenticity of the others. Instead of suspense we get a lot of silly sex, and the intense, understated action of the earlier novels is almost totally lacking. The author is still my favorite, but I think he may have exhausted his wonderful powers of creativity.

Full Disclosure: I've read all of Furst's books, as soon as they were published, most several times. I admire the bejesus out of his writing and actually savor many of his sentences, words even, they're that good.

The problem is that Furst writes sketches, not fully realized novels. Not since Red Star and Night Soldiers has he actually dug in and developed the themes, characters and plot lines he creates with such originality and feeling. It's maddening. As if you knew one of the world's best chefs but got nothing but appetizers from him. Or only got to see movie previews, never the feature.

Spies of the Balkans is true to form. So many fascinating threads: the Jewish escape operation from Berlin and the woman who runs it; the British espionage operation in Greece and the people who run that; the fixer in Paris; the protagonist's assistants and family--all fascinating and only touched upon.

Just to be clear, Furst isn't perfect. The main character is always the same guy with a different accent. The Germans are always straight from central casting. The same bistro in Paris with the bullet hole in the mirror is always dragged in. It doesn't matter. Just write one all the way, Alan. You know what I'm talking about. You've done it before. A book like that would be worth $150 to me. And I'm not the only one. Discuss it with your publisher. Thank you.

A weak novel with a minimum of narrative thrust despite its hero's almost supermensch abilities to stay ahead of the approaching Nazis. The affair with beautiful Demetria is almost laughable: they are pledged to each other after locking eyes, she from her rich husband's limo. Love at first sight (or second: they apparently knew each other once in high school) is only one of the incredulities marking this story. If this title is emblematic of the series, in either scope of story or plotting, Furst is not to be trusted as a fun guide to the gathering storm.

Alan Furst is known for a particularly fine accent on his insights into the human development of his characters. In this book, Constantine, aka Costa, Zannis, a Greek Police Officer, plays a pivotal role in the anti-Nazi underground. He is one of those policemen you want in your corner in times of need and desperation. He is an upright fellow of 40, good looking and rugged. His efforts to provide safety and organization for any political assignments that come his way leads to many a fine predicament.

The threat of Nazism and German occupation lie deep in the soul of the Greeks. The Nazis are invading Greece, but Zannis undertakes several missions to help the Jews escape and to make sure that the Nazis do not win. With the aid of friends in high places and people he coerces along the way, Zannis helps several Jewish families escape to other parts of the world. He works with the French Resistance to assist a hapless English scientist to escape. He does not divulge his contacts and helpmates along the way. much to the chagrin of other fighting nationalities. And, then he goes to Belgrade to aid in a coup d'etat. All the while his own personal safety is at risk. In all of his endeavors, Zannis, manages to bring these people who might have been tortured or murdered to freedom. And, along the way, we meet and get to learn the cultures and norms of these people. The atmosphere is always tense, but we feel secure.

Because Zannis is young and handsome he meets many women, and several become his lovers. There is sex involved but we only feel privy to the most romantic and best of his moods. The sexuality is indeed right for the times and right for the people involved.

A highly entertaining and thrilling novel. One of the best Spies of the Balkans.

Highly Recommended. prisrob 07-12-10

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Furst's greatest strength in previous books, believable and compelling character development, was decidedly less evident in Spies of the Balkans. Though I liked Costa, his interactions in the book too often seemed incomplete or shallow. His relationship with Demetria, for example, was especially contrived. She came off more ornamental to the plot than integral to it (which was unusual after such complex female characters in Furst's other books) and would have been better replaced as a love interest by Roxanne or even Emilia Krebs. In fact, Costa's dealings with Pavlik, his uncle in Paris, and his patron in Salonika, all of which showed promise, were lacking in depth (each seeming more to be merely mentioned than fully explored - I suppose it says something when his most convincing relationship in the story is with his dog, Melissa). Is it possible that an increase in popularity fed pressure on Furst to publish before the book was ready? If so, I'd love to see him return to form and follow Costa through the end of the war (and after). Anyway, the book wasn't horrible, there was enough to keep me reading to the end, but based on his previous efforts, I anticipated so much more that this left me feeling somewhat let down.

When we think of World War II, most of us think about the situations faced by those in western Europe. I've read dozens of books about the era in every genre, from purely historical (Wine and War: The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure) to science fiction time travel (Connie Willis' Blackout). However, I've never given any thought to the war as seen by those in the east, and while reading Furst's new book, set primarily in Greece, I realized how ignorant I was of the region's wartime experiences. This novel, however, is not a bad way to come up to speed.

The protagonist is Constantine Zannis, a detective in Salonika who has been promoted to a more secretive, unnamed organization. The novel tracks his journeys (physical and spiritual) for about six months starting in the fall of 1940, when Zannis is called upon to investigate an apparent German spy who's arrived in town. By the nature of an espionage tale it's impossible to give details without spoilers, but suffice to say that Zannis' goals require him to travel around a bit, so we see how people coped with the imminent German invasion in, say, Belgrade, and what it took for people to escape from Germany. (There's also a love story, but it's the weakest part. That's okay, because there's plenty of other stuff going on to keep your attention.)

This is the first Furst novel I've read, and his tale-spinning is very good. The story slides from page to page, with me tagging along without resistance. It's not a "heavy" novel, despite the seriousness of the subject. In a way I felt as though I was reading a made-for-TV movie, with all the story elements right out in front, rather than a deep cerebral investigation of personal morality. And, as with watching a TV movie, at the end I felt as though I'd been entertained but not particularly changed by the experience.

I enjoyed reading the book, and I think you will, too. But I wouldn't urge you to put this on the top of your Must Read pile.